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Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Samosa Pie with Apple Butter Chutney

I don't deep-fry! I've said it before and I pretty much mean it. But it did occur to me that you could bake samosas, like a pie. And then it occured to me; well why not just make a pie with samosa filling? So I did.

It also occurred to me that I could adapt this recipe to make a pie crust that was sturdy yet flaky and not too rich, and it worked fairly well. I may try tweaking it a bit more, but it's certainly good enough to go on with. We really liked this, both warm from the oven and cold. Which is good, because it was a bit time consuming to make. I made the dough and the filling the night before, and assembled the pie the next day. That is not a bad way to do it at all. The result is an impressive and tasty vegetarian main dish - I'm thinking it could very well get served at Christmas time along with the Vegetarian Tourtiere for a meatless feast.

And yes, that is lettuce from our garden in the last picture. It occurs to me that I'm amazed.

Mix the two flours and the salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the boiling water with a fork, then the cold water, until a rough dough forms. Turn it out and knead it briefly, until it is all amalgamated and smooth. Wrap it in parchment and put it in a plastic bag. Refrigerate until wanted, at least one hour to overnight.

Toast the whole cumin, coriander, fennel and cardamon in a dry skillet until slightly toasted and aromatic. Turn them onto a plate to cool, then, grind them. (Discard the papery outer shells of the cardamom.) Mix them with the remaining spices, and set aside until needed.

Wash, trim and cut the potatoes into dice. Put them in a pot with water to cover, and boil until tender, about 7 or 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the shallots finely. Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the well-drained potatoes. Fry for several minutes, until browning in spots, turning regularly. Add the shallots and continue cooking for several minutes, turning regularly, until the shallots are softened. Start with the 2 tablespoons of oil, but add a little more if it looks like it may stick.

Add the ginger and spices, and continue cooking for several more minutes, turning to ensure the spices are evenly distributed. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool somewhat as you proceed.

The butter needs to be quite soft and spreadable, although not melted. Use 1 teaspoon of it to thoroughly butter a 9" pie pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Divide the dough into 2 not quite equal portions, about 60% and 40%. Roll out the larger portion on a floured board into a large rectangle, very thin. Turn the dough and sprinkle with more flour as needed to keep it from sticking while you work.

Take 60% of the 1/4 cup of butter - (just eyeball it, okay?) - and spread it as evenly as you can over the dough. It doesn't have to be all that even; see the first picture. Fold up the bottom line of the dough to roll the whole thing up into a cylinder. Roll the cylinder of dough into a coil (second picture), and roll it out flat again, into a circle this time. The circle should be large enough to fit into your prepared pie pan.

Mix the frozen peas in with the potato filling, and put it in the pie crust.

Roll out the second piece of dough and smear it with butter in the same way as the first piece of dough. Coil it up, and roll it out to fit on the pie as the top crust. Pinch the edges sealed and cut some vents in the top of the pie.

Melt the remaining teaspoon of butter, and brush it over the top of the pie. Bake for 1 hour and 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm to room temperature with the chutney.